The Cat's Kitten
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: John Hardesky, the burglar known as the Cat, shares a moment with his wife and daughter.


I don't own Spider-Man, I just own this one-shot.

Please let me know what you think.

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The Cat's Kitten.

John Hardy, aka John Hardesky, aka, the Cat, smiled as he heard the familiar sound of a childish giggle outside of his study. "Come in, Felicia," he called, turning around and smiling at the sight of the diminutive form of his daughter. "Whatever are you doing up at this hour?" he said in a mock scolding voice.

Felicia giggled at the familiar greeting. "I love being up late," the child said, playing along with her father as she rushed towards John with incredible speed before he bent down and picked her up gently so she wouldn't hurt herself. "I get to see you at night, daddy."

John chuckled as he held his daughter before he took her in. She might have been small, but to him, she was, next to her mother, the most beautiful girl in his life. "I know, kitten," he said kindly and he gently carried her over to the balcony window.

As a skyline New York city was beautiful at night, the lights from the city made him think about the stars in the night sky. Or the diamonds waiting to be mined by the seven dwarves in Snow White.

"I've said it to you before, kitten, you and I are more comfortable at night," John said, looking down at his daughter who beamed up at him with that love and the childlike innocence he adored most of all, before he waved a hand around at the glorious spectacle around them, "and this one of the reasons why."

"'Cause of the lights?"

John laughed softly. "Yes, exactly that," he replied, looking down at her, "what do they remind you of?"

Felicia wriggled a bit in John's grasp, making him think for a moment she wanted out but when she thoughtfully tapped her lips with her finger which made him smile, she brightened up. "They're like stars, right daddy?" she asked, gazing up at her father.

"That's right," John replied, kissing her on the cheek, which made her giggle as the whiskers of his moustache tickled her soft chin.

"Your whiskers tickle, daddy!" Felicia laughed as she rubbed her cheek.

John smiled. "I know, why do you think I do it?" he mock growled at her.

Felicia giggled again before she cuddled him tightly before snuggling into his chest, much like a cat. John held onto her gently, listening to the slow rhythm of her breathing while the hand he had clasped onto her back could feel her heartbeat. As he held her he felt the little girl fall asleep - John had no idea how long she had been awake for, never mind where she had found reserves of boundless energy, but it was clear to him she was now worn out.

Still, he had to make sure she was actually asleep; more than once the little minx had surprised him and made him jump by playing possum, and making him take her to bed before waking up so fast it almost gave him a heart attack.

John had never lost his temper despite scolding her half-heartedly whenever she had done that - just listening to his daughter's laughter, and seeing the way she held onto herself when she had a stitch from laughing too hard was enough to kill any sign of anger in him, though she had been scolded more than once over the years when she had pushed him too far.

After seeing she was asleep, John gently tiptoed back into the apartment - he would close the balcony door in a few minutes, he didn't want to wrestle with the door while holding onto his daughter - while using all of the training he had picked up during his childhood at the circus where he'd trained as the acrobatic son of the Great Hardesky, a master escapologist, along with all the training he had picked up over the years as he had become the Cat, and gently put the little girl to bed.

As he was just tucking his daughter under the covers gently, John's sensitive hearing which he had worked on himself so then he was always alert in case somebody was creeping up behind him whenever he was conducting one of his many heists picked up the sounds of gentle footsteps, and he turned his head around briefly, and he smiled as he took in the loving smile of his beautiful wife, Anastasia.

She held up three fingers, telling him to come to bed in three minutes, and he nodded with a smile before he bent down and kissed their daughter on the forehead before he tiptoed out of the bedroom, and lightly closed the door. He heard the sound of Felicia's peaceful mutters as she slept, but there was no sign of the child waking up, so it was safe.

After brushing his teeth and donning his shorts after divesting himself of his clothes, John got into bed. Anastasia was already there waiting for him. When he clambered into the bed, John let out a sigh as he cuddled his wife to his chest, his nose inhaling her scent.

"How was the burglary?" she asked quietly.

John hugged her tightly as he remembered the burglary he had been planning for the last four months to get everything right while Anastasia had given him so help here and there; she wasn't entirely thrilled with being the wife of a criminal, but considering her background where she'd had nothing and now they had so much at their fingertips she didn't say a word against what he did at night when he was committing a job, but he knew she was worried he might be caught.

He tried to never let it bother him too much, knowing his wife meant well, but the fear of being caught was something he had to live with every time he committed a burglary, though there was a lot more that worried him each time he went out and risked capture. A lot more, especially since he knew something that would attract attention from both the right people and the wrong people, though John had been a criminal long enough to see the lines blurred between right and wrong.

"I almost got disturbed by a security guard," he said, feeling her inhale sharply and hold onto him more tightly though she knew it was illogical to be worried since he had managed to get out, and he'd survived a few tight scrapes here and there, mostly due to his training as an acrobat and a few moves he had picked up from his own father. "But it's alright," he reassured her quickly, "I managed to get the diamonds."

"When are you going to get them fenced?"

"Another few months from now. I want things to calm down, and maybe I will go on another job before I reach that point," he told her. "I was thinking of having them fenced in Paris, or maybe even Sydney."

"In Australia?" Anastasia let out a whistle. "That's a long way. Do you think you should go alone, or do you think we should come with you?"

One of the things John had always strived to do was to keep his wife and daughter out of his criminal activities as much as possible. But truthfully he didn't see the harm in bringing his family with him to Australia, especially if they could make a kind of holiday out of the event. The more that he thought about it, the more the idea had merit for John.

The thought of taking his daughter to Australia, away from the hustle and bustle of New York, letting her see the wildlife of Australia like the kangaroo while taking tours of the Great Barrier Reef excited him.

"How about we make it a holiday?" he whispered to Anastasia, who shuffled out of his embrace so she could look her husband straight in the eye. John could see that she was fighting the urge to fall asleep herself, much like Felicia, but even in the dim light of the bedroom, he could see she was excited about the prospect. "You mean it?" she whispered.

John smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips, the hairs of his moustache tickling her lips much as they did Felicia's own skin. "Definitely."

The couple hugged each other and they were silent, and for a moment John was certain his wife had fallen asleep. He was about to fall asleep himself but her half-asleep whisper woke him up.

"She's such a daddy's girl. She loves you," Anastasia yawned.

"I know," John whispered, hoping that he could get some sleep, but he couldn't because he had something on his mind that he wanted to get off of his chest. It had been on his mind for a while now. "Anastasia, I've been thinking…," he began, but he trailed off because he was unsure how she would take it.

"Hmm?" his half-asleep wife replied.

"I'm thinking of committing a few more heists before I stop."

That woke his wife up, and she sat up again, rubbing the sleep from her eyes so she could look at her husband with a bit more alertness. "Are you sure?" she asked, and he could almost see the uncertainty in her face.

"Absolutely. I've been thinking about it for some time," John went on, deciding to make his confession. "I've been a burglar for a long time, and I can't do it forever. At some point, I'm going to reach a point where I could be endangering my life, and I can't do that and let you and Felicia live on your own."

The confession startled and frightened Anastasia. "You're worried you might be caught?" she whispered.

"I am always worried each time I go out," he reminded her. "I was thinking that perhaps I commit a couple more burglaries before I retire, hang up the goggles and gloves for good, and then focus on my family and the business idea I've got."

Anastasia was silent. She and her husband had been thinking of opening and running their own business for some time, and they had already made some headway over the last year, but this was the first time that they'd actually broached the subject. Unfortunately, it was late and they were both tired.

"How about we talk about it tomorrow morning, over breakfast? It's too late to think about it now," she suggested, wanting to get some sleep.

John nodded in understanding. "Okay, that sounds great."

As he was just about to fall asleep, John Hardesky could not help but wonder if retiring the way he wanted would happen at all.


End file.
